Surface effects on thermoelectric properties of metallic and semiconducting nanowires

Metallic and semiconducting nanowires (NWs) are of interest in the field of thermoelectrics, because they act as model system to investigate the influence of surfaces on the thermoelectric transport properties. In single crystalline NWs, the grain boundary scattering is negligible and the surface-to-volume-ratio is high. We present state-of-the-art of the combination of the structural, chemical, and temperature-dependent full thermoelectric characterization for individual single crystalline NWs, which is essential to conclude on surface effects. Temperature dependent measurements allow further conclusions on the scattering mechanisms. Simulations by the finite element method are performed on indented NWs to interpret the measurement results. [GRAPHICS] Calculated surface temperature of a single-indented and a multi-indented NW. (C) 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim